Unlike Australia, the United States built its wine industry from the top down. Rather than lathering foreign supermarket aisles with the fruity, frivolous and inexpensive, the US, with California as its iron in the fire, went for the jugular. For emigre families who had surmounted the hardships of Prohibition to successfully commandeer a syncretism of wine cultures, intuitively melded with the sunny ways of a new frontier and its hyper-capitalist engine room, this was not only justifiable, but deserved. This ideology came of age in 1979, when two of the world’s most famous wine dynasties— Napa Valley’s Mondavi and Bordeaux’s Rothschild—collaborated to found Opus One.

 

Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild had become friends in 1970, when they met in Hawaii. Each saw in the other the potentiality to transcend Napa’s then provincial limitations, while cultivating a trajectory to bring a wine to the front of the world stage. Rothschild evinced authority as a founder of the Old World order, while Mondavi imparted flair, New World optimism and a freethinking prescience to the relationship. A relationship that created a wine to shatter preconceptions about what was possible outside of the European hegemony, while bringing great Californian wine to the world.

The wine was initially called Opus. Yet Opus One was settled on to engender the sense of singularity and dedication that both parties had for the project. It was also deemed easy to pronounce and its Latin etymology reflected the origins of those involved. The first parcels for Opus One were already in use by the Mondavi family. They comprised 35 acres in the famous Q Block of the To Kalon vineyard. Their purchase was made final in 1981. This effectively made the earlier releases of Opus One a single vineyard wine, although it was never promoted as such.

The first releases of Opus One were ushered to a new audience, unaccustomed to a New World wine nudging three figures. Two vintages were offered contiguously in 1984: 1979 and 1980. Both were relatively poor years, and it wasn’t until the much improved 1984 that the project began to gain steam. High ratings and international acclaim soon resulted in a further purchase of 48 acres and the construction of Opus One’s futuristic looking cellar door in 1989, today an architectural icon of the Napa vine-scape. Ambition engendered nighttime harvesting and micro-fermentations of individual parcels, each fed to its own dedicated tank fed by gravity. De rigueur today, perhaps, but in the early 2000’s such gentle handling of the fruit and a forensic approach to vinification was considered revolutionary.

In 2004, Opus One had become a venture between Constellation Brands and Rothschild, the former purchasing Mondavi in 2004 amidst internecine strife and the subsequent domino effect on Mondavi’s share price. Critical acclaim at this juncture ossified, particularly among American tastemakers. Yet I have always enjoyed the style of Opus One, even during this ostensibly rough patch. The wine has always remained savoury, flecked with the leafy pyrazines of cabernet sauvignon to serve lift and vitality. This is in stark contrast to the piste of manicured tannins that define the heady and fruit-sweet Napa norm. It is no wonder, as the overseers at Opus One had been adamant from the outset about their intent to craft a Californian wine in a less exuberant, fruit-forward style.

In 2007, the gears were again set to quality overdrive. The brand’s renaissance manifested as third party acclaim and an inexorable rise in brand equity marked the beginning of a new era. A long-term leasehold was established to secure yet another section of the To Kalon vineyard that was known as Mondavi K Block, in addition to the autonomous Ballestra and River Vineyards. In 2008, a further 100 acres of vineyard land was purchased east of Highway 29, bolstering quality while facilitating greater volume. Yet for many pundits, it was the injection of this old Mondavi fruit into the assemblage that saw scores skyrocket afresh. While the 1996 had been the barometer of greatness prior to the Constellation era, newer vintages—including 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016—set the pulse racing again, with the 2013 serving as the mantlepiece. The 2013 is recognised by many as the greatest wine crafted at Opus One to date, with perfect scores asunder.

Today Opus One comprises 170 acres, split across four estate parcels, each situated in the western portion of Napa’s famed Oakville AVA. These include the two To Kalon holdings, Then there are the additional Ballestra and River sites, external to the property. The winery boasts in excess of 50 fermentation vats and an arsenal of new French barrels, where the blended wine matures for circa 18-20 months. Grapes are hand-harvested and meticulously sorted in the vineyard and later, in the winery, using spectrometry to ensure the optimal quality of each grape. This is followed by long maceration periods in stainless steel tanks. The blend is generally circa 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot. Following maturation in oak, Opus One is bottle-aged for virtually the same period of time before release. Production is nigh on 25,000 cases making it comparable to volumes at similarly positioned Bordeaux châteaux.

A worldly vision remains welded to the elan that inspired the project from the outset, with more than 50 per-cent of production exported. Opus One's largest foreign market is Japan, where it is listed across the vast number of Michelin-starred restaurants that define the country’s superlative culinary scene, from French, Italian, Cantonese and of course regional Japanese fare. This is highly unusual for an American wine that could putatively sell out with ease in its domestic market, the world’s wealthiest.

In September, 2012, Opus One opened a sales and distribution office in Bordeaux. Given the wine’s understated style and its ownership by Mouton, the overseer of a major Bordeaux negoçiant in its own right, it is surprising that this development did not take place years, if not decades earlier, facilitating trade on the Bordeaux Place alongside the world’s other top wines. If any wine deserves to be there it is Opus One, the true pioneer of New World fine wine.